I have some nice-looking leftover 16x16 slate floor tile that I'm thinking about using on the rear wall of the 90 gal I'm in the process of setting up. Does anyone have any experience doing this, and how did it work out? Pictures? I assume aquarium-safe silicone will secure it to the glass. Any other ideas?

I've used it for the bottom of a tank. I'm sure it would work just as well as a background. Silicone should be all you need. From a space perspective you could probably put it on the outside so that it doesn't take up extra space.

I've also toyed with this idea, but I know more than one fellow fish nerd who has done so and regretted the permanence of it. Either you use a little silicone on the corners and have it easier to remove if you want, downside is gunk getting trapped back there, or you seal the hell out of it and never ever get it off.

Wouldn't putting a whole slab of slate for the background of the tank create an imbalance in terms of weight distribution? It may put too much pressure on the back wall and the bottom of the tank towards the back.

I have one tank thats been setup for 20+ years without a complete tear down and cleaning so the 'gunk' that may find its way behind the slate does not concern me. I disabled the UG filter plate on the old tank when I went to an eheim canister (2 years ago) and had no strange issues occure. What little debris may find its way behind the slate will help feed the moss I'm starting along the seams anyway.

I like this idea. I bet you could make a really awesome external background using fake rock on a sheet of plywood or something similar...

I just bought a used 55G setup from a guy how did just that - used fake rock tiles from a lizard terrarium and bonded it to the back inside the tank. It's plastic but looks like textured granite and doesn't add to the weight or affect chemistry. It actually looks really good and the moss he had and some anubias grew up one portion of it. If I can get ahold of a proper camera, I'll post a picture of it.

Here are a couple of pix of the tank from a setup I bought with the fake rock background... Sorry for the quality - I just have a cell phone camera right now. To be honest, I prefer the clear block of water look but this is still really cool (IMHO). Btw, if you choose to do this, be very careful with your choice of adhesives!

I've also toyed with this idea, but I know more than one fellow fish nerd who has done so and regretted the permanence of it. Either you use a little silicone on the corners and have it easier to remove if you want, downside is gunk getting trapped back there, or you seal the hell out of it and never ever get it off.

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